The Librarians S02 E04: The Cost of Education

On this week’s episode of “The Librarians” there were disappearing students, stalking gargoyles, a dimensional rift, and a tentacle monster. And you thought finals were the worst part of college.

They All Said I Was Mad

The gang gets called to Wexler University to investigate the disappearance of the college’s mascot.

At first, it sounds like something as benign as a disappeared college student would be a case more suited to “Veronica Mars,” but we learn that Wexler was created by famous occultist Josiah Wexler. After a chat with Mindy the helpful cheerleader, it appears that student disappearances are not uncommon, neither are warts that give you screaming nightmares. Magic is in the air.

We are introduced to Lucy Lyon. She is a highly intelligent student at Wexler, and a self-proclaimed magic hunter. Lucy was a great character. I appreciated her enthusiasm and persistence. I had similar feelings watching her that I have when a really great character is introduced on “Doctor Who,” but instead of thinking,

This person would make a great companion, I thought, Lucy would make a great Librarian. I hope we see her again.

Lucy has been investigating magic on the campus, particularly around the Theta Omega fraternity house. Lucy helps Ezekiel and Cassandra get into Omega. Their investigation doesn’t garner any useful information except that in frat houses, everything is sticky.

Magic in Untried Hands

Now before going to the University, Jenkins warns the crew not to stare at the gargoyles.

It this week’s episode, it was noted that Jenkins forgoes his usual bow tie in favor of a necktie with matching pocket square. It was a classy look that made me wonder if he was meeting up with Tim Gunn later for tea. I think Jenkins and Tim Gunn would absolutely be friends.

Not taking Jenkins advice, Ezekiel stares at one of the gargoyles and soon finds that the gargoyle is following him, Weeping Angel style.

Fortunately the audience members, many who were traumatized by “Blink,” breathed a sigh of relief. The figures at Wexler aren’t malevolent, they are like stray dogs. Ezekiel adopts his gargoyle and names him Stumpy.

Jake finds out that one of his idols, a Professor Roger Bancroft, teaches at Wexler. He completely fanboys over meeting Bancroft, but of course, like most situations where one meets their idol, Bancroft turns out to be a complete jerk. The Professor gets all Vernon Dursley and exclaims,

“There’s no such thing as magic!” Fortunately, Jake doesn’t have to deal with Bancroft’s prickishness for long, because Bancroft is whisked away by a giant tentacle.

Now the gang knows what has been causing the disappearances, and we find out that this episode is a nod to H.P. Lovecraft.

Pride goeth before a fall, or in this case, pride goeth before a giant tentacle monster drags you into its alternate dimension. The monster is attracted to hubris, and will attack anyone with a propensity to boast. With the mystery of what solved, The Librarians must find out how/why.

You remember that time in college when your science project accidentally created a dimensional rift? Then you thought that your particle accelerator was so awesome, and you were so awesome for creating it that a tentacle monster snatched you? Yup, me too.

Cassandra insists on going into the dimensional rift to save her new best friend, Lucy.

Proverbs and Ezekiel

As soon as Jenkins mentioned that the monster is attracted to pride, I wondered why Ezekiel wasn’t instantly seized. The answer of course was that he had to stick around long enough to be tentacle bait.

Ezekiel’s self-importance keeps the monster distracted long enough for Cassandra to save Lucy and close the dimensional rift, but the rescue mission is not without causality.

There was already lots of giddy anticipation on twitter regarding Stumpy being a continuing character/new pet for the Librarians. So of course there was a collective gasp when Stumpy the gargoyle sacrifices himself to save his new friend Ezekiel. We only knew Stumpy for a handful of minutes. He was an inanimate object made of stone, and yet, when he bites it, it’s pretty traumatic. Kudos to the writers and actor John Kim, for making people, including myself, get weepy for a piece of architecture.

Instead of exiting the dimensional rift behind Lucy, Cassandra gets pulled into a dreamy lake. The ladies of the lake are devoted to science and magic, and have chosen Cassandra to join them. Although it is tempting, Cassandra politely declines in favor of remaining a Librarian.

I’m hoping this scene pays off somewhere later in the season. Jenkins does warn Cassandra that the ladies are not entirely benevolent and she should be on her guard, so maybe they will come back, otherwise it seemed like a lot of added effort just to prove Cassandra’s loyalty to the Librarians.

Conclusion

This episode was a lot of fun. Who doesn’t love a giant tentacle monster rampaging around a college campus? It was nice to see Eve back in the mix. I always laugh when she brings a surreal magical moment back to reality with a line of sarcasm. It appears also back in the mix is Flynn, who will be joining the group for next week’s exciting adventure.

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One Reply to “The Librarians S02 E04: The Cost of Education”

STUMPY!! Oh NO!! not Stumpy! Our Christian Kane Vote & Promote group on facebook was considering Stumpy as our mascot !! LOL hopefully Magic will bring Stumpy back to us!
Such a fun show. I just love it and can’t wait for more